Prevent lost children while shopping The only thing scarier during the holidays than the tally

on a credit card bill come January is the idea of a child get- ting lost or abducted while out shopping. Safety tips can keep children by your side or help caregivers find kids fast should they wander off.

These are a busy few months at the mall, with many people

packed into stores in search of the perfect gifts. Confusion and the sheer volume of shoppers can increase the chance that a child will get lost. A lost child can create panic for parents and caregivers.

However, keeping a level head is more beneficial than run- ning off to find the child. Although preventing a child from wandering off is the best method of protection, being pre- pared for what to do should the child go missing is equally im- portant. • Talk about what to do. Sit children who are old

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enough down to help them understand and set up a plan of action if they become separated from you. In familiar stores, you can establish a meeting spot to go to, such as near the cash register. Instruct children to seek a secu- rity guard or store employee and ask for help. • Dress boldly. Part of the problem when holiday shop-

ping is being swarmed by different people all dressed similarly. Designate brightly colored clothes that both you and your children can wear to be more visible. Most small children only have the vantage point of seeing from the waist down. Consider wearing flashy shoes or a bandana tied to belt loops to help you stand out. Children can wear a bright shirt or hat so you can see them at all times. • Dress-up strollers, too. Many strollers are identical

in appearance. Set yours apart by tying a ribbon or bal- loon to it. This way you will be able to notice if someone is wandering off with your stroller — and your child! • Carry a recent photo. Take a picture of your children

with your mobile phone before leaving the house so that you will know exactly what he or she was wearing and will have the most recent photo available for identifica- tion. In addition to taking a head shot, take a photo of the child&#39;s shoes, too. In events of child abduction, kidnap- pers may have a change of clothes ready for children, but rarely will they be able to change kids&#39; shoes be- cause of sizing issues. Those shoes can prove an invalu- able method of identification. • Give children identification. You can create a per-

3 Holiday Shopping &#38; Relaxation Packages to give away!

sonal ID card with basic information to help reunite you with your child. This may include only the child&#39;s first name and an &#34;I&#39;m Lost&#34; message with a phone num- ber to &#34;Call Mom.&#34; Because even an ID card can go miss- ing, some inventive parents are us- ing methods like temporary tattoo IDs like those from SafetyTat(R). • Hold hands and stay connected.

Keep your children within reach and do not let them stay in one aisle while you shop in another. Holding hands keeps children within reach. Although many parents frown on the use of a child leash, if it means the difference between a child running off or staying put, it might be a good idea. • Reinforce positive behavior.

Should a child wander off and follow safety tips, reward that behavior with praise when you are reunited. Wait until another time to talk about why he or she got lost and how to make sure it doesn&#39;t happen again.

He tells The Daily Courier allegations of harassment against him are unfounded

By J.P. SQUIRE The Daily Courier

GARY NYLANDER/The Daily Courier Pony up

Maddox Stevens, 4, watches Scout the pony while at Don-O-Ray Vegetables on Benvoulin Road on the weekend.Maddox and his brother went for a ride. But his two-year-old sister was a little shy about getting in the saddle.

Man charged in suspicious death

Victim moved to Alberta to be with his girlfriend

By J.P. SQUIRE The Daily Courier

The family of former Kelowna resident

Cory McOrmond may finally get some an- swers now that a 50-year-old Grande Prairie man is facing charges in connec- tion with the suspicious death. Grand Prairie RCMP and the Edmonton

serious crime unit launched an intense in- vestigation after the 22-year-old was found injured in a Grande Prairie parking lot on Aug. 25 and later died in hospital. Police announced Monday that Norman

Timothy Vike has been charged with criminal negligence causing death, fail- ure to remain at the scene of an accident, possession of property obtained by crime, operating a motor vehicle without a oper-

MONEY TROUBLE Canadians deeper in debt than thought By The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Canadian households are

even more in debt than anyone imag- ined, according to a revised Statistics Canada calculation that gives a more ac- curate picture of family finances. The revisions place household credit

market debt in the second quarter at 163 per cent of disposable income, well above the previously reported 152 per cent, al- though the two levels are no longer a di- rect comparison. The new numbers remove non-profit

institutions from the household catego- ry, giving a more accurate accounting of family finances. The revision shows debt growth over

the last decade that looks “eerily simi- lar to the U.S. experience, just before their dramatic housing bust,” said David Madani, an analyst with Capital Economics. “Overall, this supports our bearish view that Canada’s housing boom is

unsustainable and the eventual correc- tion, which we think is already under- way, is likely to have a material nega- tive implications for growth,” he said. The revisions show a much steeper

climb, with debt growing in each of the past six quarters. Madani doubts the news will cause

Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to hike interest rates, however, saying that point has past given the slowing housing market and still weak global economy. There was some good news in the re-

vised data. It turns out Canadians have more as-

sets than previously thought, with per capita net worth rising $7,900 to $190,200 due mostly to an improved calculation of holdings in unlisted company shares. Nevertheless, TD bank economist

Diana Petramala said the overall results show Canadian households are more vulnerable to a housing correction than previously thought.

That’s because although Canadians

hold more assets than their counterparts in the U.S. and the U.K. did before the crash, most of those assets are locked into the value of their homes, which could take a tumble in a housing correc- tion or if the economy tanks. At the peak of the U.S. housing bubble

in 2007, household debt to income there hit a high of 170 per cent. Still, analysts caution that Canada’s

housing market is on a more solid footing than was the case south of the border. Canadians tend to hold more equity in

their homes and many of their mort- gages are backed by the federal govern- ment through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. As well, risky subprime mortgages represent a small percentage of lending. Ottawa has moved four times in as

many years to tighten mortgage rules to keep marginal buyers out of the market, most recently in August.

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ator’s licence, operating motor vehicle without insurance and operating a motor vehicle without a certificate of registra- tion. Vike, who is not in custody, will make his first appearance in Grande Prairie provincial court on Nov. 7. Police won’t release the specif-

ic circumstances of the incident. Const. Ellen Archibald, acting media relations officer for Grande Prairie RCMP, said she didn’t know if police had seized a red pickup seen in the area. About 2 a.m. on Aug. 25, an officer con-

waiting for his next paycheque to buy it. In late August, a friend from Trail went

up to see McOrmond for a few days and the two went to the Spurs Cookhouse and Dancehall on the evening of Aug. 24. The friend was still inside the

bar after midnight and started looking for McOrmond. Concluding he must have

McOrmond

ducting an unrelated traffic stop was alert- ed by two witnesses to an injured man ly- ing in the parking lot of Prairie Haven Motel, which is in front of Spurs Cookhouse and Dancehall. McOrmond moved to Grande Prairie in

April to start a new job with Trican Well Service. His girlfriend, Tianna Page, moved up in May. They had selected an engagement ring and McOrmond was

walked home, the friend went one block to Cory’s house but didn’t find him. “Tianna phoned Cory’s cell- phone. A nurse at the hospital an-

swered and told her she needed to get there fast,” said McOrmond’s mother, Barb McOrmond. Two RCMP members and a victim services worker knocked at her front door at 8:05 a.m. on Aug. 25 to inform her Cory had died. During an autopsy, the medical examin-

er notified police that McOrmond did not die of natural causes.

Continued on page A4 Allegations of harassment and threats are swirling

around the president of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association. Kirpal Boparai’s response to two warning letters:

“I wiped my butt with it because I don’t think they were worth keeping.” The Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative recently can-

celled the East Kelowna grower’s membership and fruit contracts for breaching his apple contract. However, The Daily Courier was told

by sources that the contract breach was “the final straw” after allegations of harassment and threats against co- op employees and directors dating back to at least 2010. On Aug. 20, 2010, a co-op memo ob-

Boparai

tained by The Daily Courier says Boparai “has threat- ened several managers that they can/will be replaced, he swears at employees and makes derogatory comments to staff.” One staff member was “very upset and was ready to re-

sign. Several other staff have also recently commented/ complained about Kirpal. His behaviour towards OTFC employees is festering within the organization and I be- lieve it is time we act with a letter at the very least.” In a recent interview, Boparai responded: “I think that’s

false. I said anybody will be replaced if they’re not doing their job, even including myself. Whatever they want to say, it is up to them. Let them say whatever they want. They can interpret it the way they want it.” Boparai said verbal exchanges with employees start-

ed with a couple of employees using foul language. “I was really upset about it. I don’t like people swearing

at me. If they’re going to swear at me, I’m going to swear back. I told the management and they told me they would do this investigation. I haven’t heard nothing since that,” he said. An Aug. 23, 2010, letter from the board of directors to

Boparai states: “It has again come to the board’s attention that your conduct with the management and employees of (OTFC) has often been inappropriate.”